Stories from Tuesday, March 26, 1996

"Natural Reaction Boosters" is the science fair project by Cecilia Kuntz, a student at Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School, which will be entered this week at the Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair. One year before the Russians launched Sputnik, Southeast Missouri students had already joined the race for improved science and technical skills...

McCLURE, Ill. -- Much like a racing car shifts gears to gain speed, Vicki Reynolds changes subjects about every 30 minutes to keep her first-grade students at Shawnee Elementary South revved up about learning. "Seeing a child as he progresses during the year and learns how to read is a great experience," Reynolds said. "It makes you feel that maybe you do make a difference in a lot of little lives."...

Forty years ago, visitors to the Southeast Missouri Regional Science Fair saw lots of volcanoes and simple models explaining how things work. Today, projects reflect the explosion in sciences and technology. Projects on exhibit at this year's science fair look at pollution, holograms, recycling, bacterial growth and enzymatic reactions...

It's been an on-again, off-again spring in Southeast Missouri. Following the on-again mild temperatures this weekend, spring is off again with the mercury dipping below freezing overnight and only climbing into the 40s for daytime highs. That's the forecast through Thursday, when cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s are expected to return to the area...

Its completion years away, Highway 74 already is a fixture on the St. Vincent's seminary property. A tall roadbed lies south of the seminary buildings, cutting off views of the Mississippi River from some angles. A few acres of tall grass and cattails lie on the other side, divided from the rest of the land by Missouri Highway Department right of way...

SIKESTON -- Brittany Paige McDonald, 15, recently was crowned Miss Missouri Teen All American 1996 in St. Louis. She was chosen from a field of 55 entrants, ages 13-19, from all over the state of Missouri. McDonald competed in the evening gown, swimsuit and interview portions of the contest...

Tuesday, March 26 7:30 p.m. Jackson Middle School library Consider proposals for sale of soft drinks at athletic events. Consider proposal to utilize the consultant services of Fredric Armstrong. Consider resolution regarding Savannah et al. vs. PSRS...

Ken Schaefer thinks school-choice vouchers are a good idea, but he wishes more people understood the concept. House Bill 1037 was introduced as a pilot project that would help low-income families in Cape Girardeau, St. Louis and Kansas City send their children to a private or parochial school or other public schools. If passed as a three-year trial, the bill will take effect in the 1997-98 school year...

To the editor: They never had a chance going in, as they took the stage at the River City Yacht Club that evening of March 21. This fact, however, could not be observed by an unknowing observer in the crowd. The three teen-agers took their musical instruments up in arms and gave a brilliant performance, a performance that held the attention of fans of the competing band. The event was the semifinals of the Q99 Battle of the Bands...

Commuter airline service at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport is sliding. In the first eight months of the fiscal year that started last July, Trans World Express, the only commuter service available, showed a marked decline in boardings to 3,166 passengers from 4,371 in the same period a year before...

Notice to cemetery vandals: Crime doesn't pay. When Old Lorimier Cemetery in Cape Girardeau was vandalized last year, there were a good many opinions that those responsible would never be caught and, if they were, wouldn't be severely punished. But not only where suspects caught, one already has pleaded guilty and faces sentencing April 1. ...

The city of Sikeston has had more than its share of racial tension and related strife in recent years. Now the city appears to be on track with a variety of programs designed to bring the community together in ways that should promote harmony and reduce crime...

EDITOR'S NOTE: Efforts are continuing to secure funding -- at least enough to permit the letting of bids and start construction -- for a new Cape Girardeau bridge over the Mississippi River. Here is the text of a letter sent March 20 to Rodney Slater, administrator of the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, D.C. ...

To the editor: In response to Chuck Miller's March 21 article concerning the Internal Revenue Service cutbacks, I agree that the lack of common sense in another of our executive-branch bureaucracies is unfortunate, although I'm not at all surprised. ...

A Texas man was killed in a one-vehicle accident Tuesday morning in Cape Girardeau. Bobby Lee Warrick, 60, of Houston was killed when his car ran off the road, vaulted across Ramsey Creek and struck an embankment. It wasn't known if Warrick used a seat belt, but both air bags had been inflated, Cape Girardeau Police said...

ANNA, Ill. -- Thelma "Maxine" Shepherd Corzine, 78, of Harahan, La., formerly of Anna, died Monday, March 25, 1996. Arrangements are incomplete at Crain Funeral Home in Anna.

PERRYVILLE -- George L. Elder, 67, of Perryville died Monday, March 25, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center. He was born Aug. 8, 1928, at Perryville, son of Thomas J. and Mary Evelyn Tucker Elder. He and Doris M. Huber were married Oct. 18, 1952, at Perryville...

MORLEY -- Funeral service for Richard Lee Taylor of Morley will be held at 10 a.m. today at Amick-Burnett Funeral Chapel in Sikeston. The Rev. Woodrow Phillips will officiate, with burial in Forest Hills Memorial Garden. Taylor, 47, died Sunday, March 24, 1996, at his home...

JACKSON -- Funeral service for Frankie Jane Cochran of St. Louis will be held at 11 a.m. today at Cracraft-Miller Funeral Chapel. The Rev. John Ferguson will officiate, with burial in Russell Heights Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home from 10 a.m. to service time...

JACKSON -- Ralph "Bones" Gentry, 76, of Jackson, died Sunday, March 24, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. Cracraft-Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

DEXTER -- Helen Madden, 85, of Dexter died Sunday, March 24, 1996, at Dexter Memorial Hospital. She was born May 13, 1910, to Thomas Jefferson and Helen McCoy Madden in Pittsburgh. She married Udell Stephen Madden in Pittsburgh. He died May 22, 1969...

Daughter to Jeff and Angie Bader of St. Louis, Missouri Baptist Hospital there, 10:56 a.m. Monday, March 18, 1996. Name, Anna Lynn. Weight, 3 pounds 12 ounces. First child. Mrs. Bader is the former Angela Westrich, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Westrich of Scott City. She is employed at Computer Sales International Inc. Bader is the son of Ada Bader of Glennonville and the late Andrew Bader. He is a policeman in St. Louis County...

COBDEN, Ill. -- Marjorie A. Sharp, 73, of Aurora, died Sunday, March 24, 1996, at Copley Memorial Hospital in Aurora. She was born Oct. 13, 1922, in Cobden, daughter of John D. and Hazel Richardson Stroehlein. She married Donald W. Sharp. Sharp was a member of Hope Lutheran Church in Aurora...

Lydia Dewers of Cape Girardeau recently earned the Trustee Scholarship from Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn. The scholarship is given to students based on grade-point average, ACT scores and personal interviews. Bethel College is a liberal arts school sponsored by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church...

SCOTT CITY -- It didn't take long for Adrian Strahan to learn that being a police officer took more work than just writing traffic tickets. Strahan spent a day "shadowing" a Cape Girardeau police officer as part of a business project with the Future Business Leaders of America club...

What are today's teens views on gender? Teen-agers around the country are being urged to participate in USA WEEKEND's annual Teen Survey and Partners in Education program. This year's survey topic is The Gender Gap: Are boys and girls treated differently at school, at home and among their peers?...

A team of junior high students from St. Vincent de Paul School recently won the regional finals of the MATHCOUNTS contest. Team members are Cory Elfrink, Jean Stoverink, Scott Reinagel and Jeffrey Overby. Tim Robert from St. Mary's Cathedral School had the top individual score...

Students interested in science and technology careers might have a better chance at a college scholarship this year. More than 240 Competitive Edge scholarships are available for the fall. It is funded by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and local vendors. Three students from Southeast Missouri State University received the scholarship last year...

Gale Dale, president of the Scott City Board of Education, recently earned her advanced certification designation by the Missouri School Boards Association Certified Board Member Program. The program is designed to give board members the skills and knowledge needed to serve their communities...

SIKESTON -- Brittany Paige McDonald, 15, was recently crowned Miss Missouri Teen All American 1996. She is the daughter of Duke and Pat McDonald of Sikeston. McDonald was chosen from 55 entrants, age 13 to 19. She will compete for the Miss Teen All American title in Miami this summer. She is reigning Junior Miss Sikeston and was the 1995 Junior Miss Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo Queen...

Loretta Blattel, an elementary teacher at Delta R-V Schools, recently attended a statewide environmental workshop, "Teachers, Industry and the Environment." The three-day seminar was sponsored by Central Missouri State University, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Chemical Council of Missouri...

Southeast Missouri State University will offer a review course for high school juniors and seniors interested in taking the ACT exam April 13.. The course begins April 2 and will be held from 6-9 p.m. in the University Center. It will be taught by university faculty and staff...